Can body blank grain breaking equipment



1360- 1941- c. s. BURDORF CAN BODY BLANK GRAIN BREAKING" EQUIPMENT Filed July 19, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 30, 1941. ,c. s. BURDORF 2,268,473

CAN BODY ,BLANK GRAIN BREAKING EQUIPMENT Filed July 19, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lggig Y 23 t Patented Dec. 30, 1941 CAN BODY BLANK GRAIN BREAKING EQUIPLIENT Carl S. Burdorf, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to Continental Can Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 19, 1941, Serial No. 403,227

4 Claims.

The invention relates generally to can body forming machines and primarily seeks to provide certain new and useful improvements in the mechanism employed for breaking the grain in the blanks from which the can bodies are formed, said improvements being effective to so modify the previously conventional grain breaking function as to assure against the formation of out of round or so-called pear-shaped container bodies.

In can body forming machines, the blanks from which the bodies are formed are normally fed one-by-one from a stack through successive stations in the machine at which the various forming operations are performed. The well known Troyer-Fox machine is an outstanding example of body maker, and in this machine, disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent to Troyer, No. 1,772,820, issued August 12, 1930, the blanks are withdrawn from the supply stack by a suction cup, are fed a distance forwardly to a grain breaking station by a reciprocating feeder, are pushed laterally by a reciprocating pusher and passed through grain breaking rolls which return them at the breaker station at a higher level, and are then fed step-by-step through the notching, fianging and forming stations in the well known manner. In the grain breaking equipment employed in this form of machine the advance portion of each blank passing therethrough is unsupported and there is a tendency, particularly under certain conditions of temper and thickness variation in the blanks, to leave a flat, unbowed portion at this leading edge which results in the provision of a fiat place along the left side of the can body seam and brings about the formation of can bodies which are out of round or pear-shaped in cross section. It is, therefore, the purpose of the present invention to provide means for engaging and properly supporting the leading edges of the blanks passing through the grain breaking rolls so as to assure against the provision of fiat edge portions and the resultant out of round or pearshaped container bodies.

As is well known in the art, the machine referred to employs three cylindrical grain breaking rolls of equal diameter arranged with their axes horizontal, parallel and in the same vertical plane. The blanks are fed laterally between the lowermost pair of rolls, engage and are diverted upwardly and between the upper pair of rolls by a guide block or breaker steel, and then pass back through said upper rolls and onto the feedways over a straightening plate or front breaker.

In its more detailed nature the present invention resides in providing an auxiliary roll disposed directly over the front breaker or straightening plate and in cooperative relation therewith and with the grain breaking rolls, said auxiliary roll being effective to engage and support the leading edge of each blank as the blank is being returned onto the feedways in a manner for causing the whole of each blank to be substantially straightened out with but a slight reverse bow therein which is uniformly arcuate in cross section and is directed upwardly instead of downwardly as heretofore.

Another object of the invention is to provide an auxiliary roll of the nature stated, and novel means for adjustably mounting the same in 00- operative relation with the front breaker or straightening plate and the grain breaking rolls.

With the above and other objects in view which will more fully appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by following the description, the appended claims, and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a vertical cross section taken through the grain breaking station of a body maker having the invention applied thereon.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary face view looking toward the grain breaking rolls from inside the body blank feed line.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the parts illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a detail cross section showing a body blank with an edge portion thereof straight out of arcuate line as sometimes formed by previously standard grain breaking mechanisms.

Figure 5 is a detail cross sectional view illustrating an out of round or pear-shaped can body such as would be formed from the blank illustrated in Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5 illustrating a properly round can body.

In the drawings, there is illustrated a fragment of the well known Troyer-Fox bodymakerreferred to hereinbefore and which is disclosed in U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,772,820, and the invention is illustrated as mounted in cooperative relation to and in combination with the body blank grain breaking structures employed in this machine.

This well known machine includes side beams 0r housings 5 supporting blank slideways 6. The blanks are fed along step-by-step over these slideways, and over a center guide or beam 1, by feed bars 8, to the grain breaking station.

At the grain breaking station, and at the right hand side of the machine, looking in the direction in which th body blanks are fed to the forming mechanisms, there are mounted three grain breaking rolls designated 9, l and H. These rolls are disposed with their axes extending in the direction of the lengthof the machine in parallel relation and with all said axes disposed in a common Vertical plane. The rolls have trunnion hearing at their ends in bearing housings l2 secured to the right hand beam or side housing 5, and since the patent referred to clearly illustrates and describes the manner 'of imparting rotation to these, rolls, it is thought to be unnecessary to describe these driving connections in this disclosure. in the directions illustrated by the arrows thereon in Figure 1.

As each body blank arrives at the grain breaking station, it is pushed laterally in a manner well known and by mechanisms clearly illustrated in the patent referred to so as to present its right hand edge between the lower roll H and the intermediate roll Ill immediately above the same. This means for laterally pushing the individual blanks is herein generally designated P.

Each blank is caused to pass around said intermediate roll and is returned between the intermediate roll and the top roll 9 immediately thereabove at a high level onto slideways I3 along which said blanks are fed step-by-step toward the body forming mechanisms after having had thegrain broken therein. This upper level forward feeding is effected'by feed bars i4, and the blanks are fedalong beneath a top pressure plate l5 which is provided with a laterally and upwardly flared right hand edge portion I5 disposed at the outlet between the upper two rolls Band III.

In passing around the intermediate roll l0 each blank is guided by a guide block or breaker steel I! which opposes the outer portion of said roll, and in its return onto the upper feedways l3 each blank passes over a rigidly mounted straightener plate or front breaker bar l8 which is disposed just inwardly of the intermediate roll I0 and beneath the flared portion of the top pressure plate 15 in the manner illustrated in Figurel.

' All of the parts hereinbefore described are well known in structure and function and are disclosed in the patent hereinbefore referred to.

In the practical development of the present invention, the bar 19 which is rigidly secured across the bearing housings I2 is recessed, as at 20, to receive the vertical frame legs 2| depending from an auxiliary frame bar 22 which is secured, as at 23, on the bar 19. The position of the frame bar 22 and the legs 2| depending therefrom can be vertically adjusted by interposing a greater or lesser number of shims 24 between said frame bar and th supporting bar IS. The frame legs 2| are held rigid by the interpositioning of an intermediate frame piece 25 which is secured across between said legs at points not farabove the lower extremities of said legs.

At their lower ends the frame legs 2! carry cone bearings 26 which project into end sockets formed in an auxiliary roll 21 disposed in closely spaced relation to and above the front breaker bar IB. The spaced relation of the roll 21 and the front breaker bar l8 can be varied by varying the shim equipments 24 in the manner hereinbefcre referred to.

The adjacent portions of the rolls 9, Ill and II the guide block or breaker steel l1 causes the blank to be curved at approximately the curvature intended in the finished can body, and the action of the intermediate and upper rolls I0 and The rolls are driven 9 in discharging the blank against the straightforwardly step-by-step by the feed bars l4.

In the previously known machine structure the leading edge of each blank fed over the front breaker bar l8 was unsupported and out of control while passing to the flared top pressure plate portion l6, and it quite often happened that a flat portion would-result at the left hand edge of the blanks, as indicated at the left side portion in Figure 4, which was found to be very objectionable because can bodies formed from such blanks would be out of round and somewhat pear-shaped as illustrated in Figure 5.

} By reason of the provision of the auxiliary roll 21 and the positioning thereof in the particular cooperative relation to the front breaker bar I8 and the upper pair of rolls 9 and H) as illustrated in Figure 1, the control of the leading edge of a blank being returned to the upper feedways and under the top pressure plate 15 is maintained and. the provision of flat places along the left hand edges of the blanks and the resultant provision of out of round or pearshaped can bodies is avoided. This novel equipment also serves to straighten out and reversely bend or impart a slight upward bow to the body blanks as distinguished from the downward bow previously imparted thereto. This upward bowing of the blank is found to be very advantageous because by this simple means variations in temper and thickness of the blanks are found to have no objectionable effect in the ultimate formation of perfectly round can bodies. found that when the lateral edges of upwardly bowed body blanks are forced downwardly around the forming horn and the hooks thereon brought into interlocked relation and bumped, a much stiffer can body is provided than was provided heretofore because of this particular bowing of the blanks; g a

It is of course to be understood that thedetails of structure and arrangement of parts may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a can body maker, a feed line, means for feeding blanks step-by-step along the line,

a set ofrotating grain breaking rolls composed of three rolls superposed with their axes parallel and in a common vertical plane paralleling the feed line, means for pushing individual blanks laterally to be received between the lower two rolls, a breaker steel for guiding said blanks partially around the intermediate roll and between the intermediate and top rolls to be returned to the feed line, and opposed elements between which a blank being returned to the feed line It is also must pass immediately after passing between said intermediate and top rolls and effective to frictionally engage said blank and reverse the direction of bend thereof, one said element comprising a stationary front breaker bar, and the other said element comprising a rotatable roll.

2. In a can body maker, a feed line, means for feeding blanks step-by-step along the line, a set of rotating grain breaking rolls composed of three rolls superposed with their axes parallel and in a common vertical plane paralleling the feed line, means for pushing individual blanks laterally to be received between the lower two rolls, a breaker steel for guiding said blanks partially around the intermediate roll and between the intermediate and top rolls to be returned to the feed line, opposed elements between which a blank being returned to the feed line must pass immediately after passing between said intermediate and top rolls and effective to frictionally engage said blank and reverse the direction of bend thereof, one said element comprising a stationary front breaker bar, and the other said element comprising a rotatable roll, and means for adjustably mounting one said element so as to permit variation of the spaced relation of said opposed elements.

3. In a can body maker, a feed line, means for feeding blanks step-by-step along the line, a set of rotating grain breaking rolls composed of three rolls superposed with their axes parallel and in a common vertical plane paralleling the feed line, means for pushing individualblanks laterally to be received between the lower two rolls, a breaker steel for guiding said blanks partially around the intermediate roll and between the intermediate and top rolls to be returned to the feed line, a front breaker bar disposed close to the intermediate roll in position for supporting blanks being returned to the feed line, and. a rotatable roll opposed to said front breaker bar close to the top roll and disposed to cooperate with said bar in frictionally engaging and reversely flexing blanks being returned to the feed line.

4. In a can body maker, a feed line, means for feeding blanks step-by-step along the line, a set of rotating grain breaking rolls composed of three rolls superposed with their axes parallel and in a common vertical plane paralleling the feed line, means for pushing individual blanks laterally to be received between the lower two rolls, a breaker steel for guiding said blanks partially around the intermediate roll and between the intermediate and top rolls to be returned to the feed line, a front breaker bar disposed close to the intermediate roll in position for supporting blanks being returned to the feed line, a rotatable roll opposed to said front breaker bar close to the top roll and disposed to cooperate with said bar in frictionally engaging and reversely flexing blanks being returned to the feed line, and means for vertically-adjustably mounting said rotatable roll.

CARL S. BURDORF. 

